Repeating and stopping device for talking machines and the like



F. B. MITCHELL. REPEATING AND sToPPING DEVICE EUR TALKING MACHINES AND THE LIKE.

APPLICTION FILED DEC. l2, |921.

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APPLICATION FILED DEC. l2, 192i. .l

Patented Sept.' 19, 1922.

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. F. B. MITCHELL. f vREPEATINGI AND STOPPING DEVICE FOR TALKING MACHINES AND THE LIKE. y f APPLICATION FILED DEC. l2, I92I. lg.- Patented Sept. 19,1922,

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FRANK BOWLEY MITCHELL, OF I-IOVE, ENGLAND.

Application filed December 12, 1921. Serial No. 521,880.

T 0 all w hom t may concern.' y

Be it known that l, FRANK BowLnY MITCHELL, a. subject of the King oit Great Britain and Ireland, and residing at 8 St. ubyns, Hove, in the county of Sussex, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in and Belatinv to Repeating and Stopping Devices for 'l alking Machines and the like, oi which the following is a specification.

T his invention relates to talking machines and the like of the discl record type with particular reference to automatic repeating apparatus therefor, and has for its object to provide improved means whereby the reu peating apparatus may be automatically set to operate with records of varying sizes.

The invention consists in automatic repeating apparatus for disc talking machines and the like applicable to any standard diameter of record disc and extent oi'phonie record thereon, characterized in that the simple act of manually placing the reproducer on a record automatically sets a limiting device (in a record starting position) to limit the return travel oi' the reproducer to the position from which repetition is to commence without the necessity ot performing any special operation other than the usual starting of the machine.

This invention also consists in apparatus claimed in the preceding paragraph having` means whereby the outward travel limiting device is released for re-setting by the act of manually lifting the reproducer'.

rlhe invention still further consists in combination with the above of means whereby the outward travel limit stop is released for resetting by the act of manually lifting the reproducer. i y

The invention also consistsin other details and arrangements hereinafter described or indicated.

The invention will now be. described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which z- Figure l is a plan view of one form of machine made in accordancewith the invention with the tonev arm and turntable removed;

Figure 2 is a sectional side elevation on` the line X-X7 Figure l;

Figure 3 is a side view of an actuating part;

vger N1 pressing onthe projection C4 and C8.

Figure 3 is aiside elevation detail of the knife edge lever.

*igure 4- vshows a plan view of a machine having automatic setting means for locating the outward limit stop;

Figure 5 shows a side elevation of yFigure 4 artly in section;

*igure 6 is a section on the line X--X, Figure 5, looking in the direction of the arrow;

Figure 7 is a side elevation showing automatic setting mea-ns;

Figure 8 is a similar view showing the tone arm in another position;

Figure 9 is a view of a detail part of the apparatus shown in Figures 7 and 8;

Figure lO shows a wedge action locking device.

Figure l1` shows a plan view of a further modification of the device;

Figure l2 shows a side elevation of Figure il;

In carrying my invention into effect in the manner shown in Figures l, Q and 3 of the drawings I providel a tone arm A having an arm B solidly joined thereto. rThe tone arm A is mounted in the usual universal bearing A3, the arms A and B being prevented from falling 'forward by means of a roller support A?, riding on the casing at C.

The reproducer B is attached to the tone arm A by means of a.swan neck swivel connector A so rthat when the reproducer is lifted yby hand it will not lift the arms A and B, but when the arm B is li'tted by the cani D being turned by the spindle L it will li't't the tone arm A and thereproducer .Ba the reproducer being held up by ltie plun- 1 lThe longitudinally adjustable slide L is in thel torni or a 'smooth rotating spindle. which can be moved freely to and tro. but is limited. in its inward movement by the collar L3" meeting the bearing C4 when setting the outward limit stop L1, it being free to slide through vgear wheel L and bearings The spindle L is rotated by the gear L11 driven by the turntable axis J2, and has a shoulder L2 and reduced portion L12 at its outerend. y

A slow turning threaded spindle N is also provided, having a reduced portion N1 being also geared to the turntable axle J 2 by worm moved forward by a Bowden 7 wire connection W and compression spring- W2. This in turn moves the parts W 1, Wk and link B12 from the position shown in Figure 2 to thatJ shown in Figure 3. The lug m7,. willv thus press on bar H` (pivoted at H3) and lift the latch H2 out of toothed quadrant L3. Immediately thespring` L1 (Figure 1) will pull the end L1 of the lever L8 and shift the fall shoulder L2 to itsv innermost position (i. e., for the smallest records). The stylus is then placedin theyrecord commencing` line; the act ofdoing this moves the tone arm A and secondary arm B rigidly secured thereto thereby `causing .the projection B11 `secured. to the end of the secondary arm B to make Contact with the upstanding `end L of the lever L8 when the latter is moved `outwards and sets the'fall shoulder L2 for that particular record. When the reproducer is manually lowered on to the record, the Bowden wire VV'and lug W3 are ref turned and the latch H2` again enters the.

quadrant L3 to lock the same.

.The abovementioned automatic mechanism to set the outward travel limitstop will work equally wellwhether the turntable and record are turning or not.

Repetition takes place as follows z-The p tone arm A and arm B are carried toward wards.

the axle J2 by the reproducer and stylus while playing, a record. From the link B12 on the arm B hangs a knife-edged'lever Be normally canted towards the bearing C4 by its own weight, arranged to act as a slipping ratchet paw] on the thread'tops of the turning screw N while the arm B is moving,r in- When the stylus runs inward towards the axis from the last phonic line of the record, the pawl B6 will meet the cone N3 and be lifted to rock the lever B13. The end B11 of the lever B13 will meet the projecting pin DG on the l cam D and partly.

rotate same, until thecam meets the rotating .spindle L, which will ycontinue `the f rotation of the cam D until it comes to rest with the recessed portion D12 resting` on`thespindle L. The rotation of the cam D will yraisethejarms B and A 'and the reproducer stylus, whilel at the same time the yprojection r1 B10 will ypress on the underside of the Vturn- 'l "table J and drive the arm toits outward re-` peating'position.

In the event of the reproducer stylus lpeat-ing` a record.

(when linishing a record) meeting a projecting ridge, deep groove or other obstruction at'the end of the phonic line andthe arms A Aand B ceasing to travel inwards, the turning screw spindle N will continue to feed the pawlB6 towards the axis J1 and tip the pawl into a vertical position and thus rock the arm B13 and rotate the cam "D into contact with lspindle L. The lifting cam D will then' be actuated to lift and return the reproducer as abovev described.. henthe lreproducer'stylus reaches the reproduction commencement point, the cam D on the arm B will be over the fall shoulder L2. This will allow the cam D to swing by its own weight into itsnormal position (as in Figure 2). At the same time a second cam E (which isiweighted to'hang withits longest` radius down) will swing inwards into position over the reduced spindleL12 andwill then take the weight of the` arms A and B and the reproducer. The continued rotation ofthe spindle L and L12 will then turn cam E outwards and gradually lower the arms Aand B and thus gently replace the stylus on therecord commencement position, the cam E returning to its normal vposition (as in Figure 2). The mechanism is thus set to repeat againand again Vuntil a 4repetition control 'indicator `95 (not shown) has reached the stop position.

It will be seen that when the reproducer is manually lifted to set the outward travel limit stop the Bowden wire or like connections W', -W3, XW and the link B12 will lift the pawlBG `and the lever B13k out of con- .tact with the spindle N and cam D,'as

Figure'B. This is to permit the arm to be moved sideways by hand without actuating the cam D when setting the apparatus. Y

The tone arm A is mounted in the usual universal bearing A3, the arms A and Bf being prevented from falling .forward to move the cam D into contact with the spindle N by means of ay roller support A1, riding on the casing at C9.

The spindle N has a reduced portion N and the pawl B6 is so weighted as to right itself. when-"commencing al .new record.

Figures 4, 5 and 6 show automatic setting [means for locating the outer limit s top as applied to electrically operated y repeating mechanism. y r

In'this arrangement a quadrant Lsa mounted-on a pivot C6a is provided with teeth L3a so arranged that the quadrant is held stationary with a latch bar H2a meshingvtherewith.

kThe quadrantL81 isprovided wit-h apin L1a functioning as a limit stop, projecting from v its upper surface, thus preventingthe tone arm 'A1L and reproducer R1 from travelling beyond the desired repeat position when re- The outer extremity of the tone armAa forms a bearing fora projection A111 whose 130 lower extremity serves as a pivot for the sound box R2, and whose upper extremity carries a support for one end ot a wire rod 712 whose outer end is provided with a contact member 702 adapted to make contact with another contact member N72 located upon the upper surface of the tone arm by the fact of raising the reproducer and whereby the lowering ot the reproducer causes the contact between the members a and W711 to be broken. The tone arm is 'further provided at its lower surface with a lug supporting a rocking bar 2 so arranged as to be tilted by a stop pin 3 adapted to be set in the correct position by hand. Contact is made through wires `W0 and V70 and wire YW thus causing a magnet YWM suitably located upon the base ot the machine to withdraw a catch H2 trom engagement with the teeth upon a quadrant L82, the catch-H22 being held normally in engagement by means of a spring and a stop pin provided at its pivoted end. The tone arm is further provided upon its upper surface with a solenoid magnet 5 having its winding connected'to the contact member l so arranged that when the winding is energized by contact between the member t and the rocking arm Q, the wire rod W1a is pulled suicientlyto slightly raise the reproducer, a weight 6 lworking over a pulley` 60 being then arranged to pull the tone arm out to the commencement point,

that is to say where the rocking bar 2 meets the stop pin L1 located upon the upper surtace ot thev quadrant member L82.

The limit stop pin L1a is set in the desired position by lowering the reproducer on the commencing lines of a record as ollows:-'-

The reproducer is raised in the usual way; this turns the projection A12 and pushes the wire rod v 71 until its meets the electric contact member W721 thereby closing the elect-ric circuit through the wires VW, W0 and earth wire WV? thus causing the magnet W22 to withdraw the catch H22 from the quadrant teeth Lawhen the spring L2 immediately draws the quadrant L221 inwards until the stop pin L1 meets the other edge ot' an end of a rocking arm 2 mounted on the tone arm A2 and forming one extremity of the member 2. The reproducer is then lowered I in the desired position; this breaks the electric circuit at lf 02 and releases the latch bar or catch H22 and locks the quadrant in the correct position in which position it `remains during the repetition until again released for a new record. The repeating mechanism operates in the following manner A reproducer traverses the record when playing in the usual way until the rocker bar 2 (Figure 6) meets and is tilted by the stop pin 3 (previously set in the correct position by hand) this closes the electric contact 4; and causes the solenoid magnet 5 mounted on the tone arm A to pull the wire W12L a short distance and thus slightly raise the reproducer. The weight 6 then pulls the tone arm out to the commencement point where the rocker bar 2 meets the stop pin L20;- this rocks the bar 2 in the opposite direct-ion and breaks the electric contact Il and allows the reproducer to tall on thev record to repeat the record. The above action goes on indefinitely until the brake is-applied unless a controlling quadrant or the like is used.

A further modification showing the automatic setting means for locating the outer limit stop is illustrated in Figures 7 to 9, the construction of this lcase being such as may be applied to any well-known type of repeating mechanism. In the form shown, a sliding track L20 is mounted on a guide bar C2 pivoted at its outer end C3 to a pedestal C1b and is so located as to iorm substantially a chord and the arc formed by the movement of reproducer stylus over the record. The sliding track L20 is provided on a part of its lower surface at the end adjacent the pivot with a plurality of teeth so arranged that the track L20 is held stationary when a` latch bar H20 projecting from the pedestal C4b is in engagement therewith, a limit stop pin L1b projecting upward trom the extremity of the track adjacent its pivot, whereby the tone arm A1 together with the reproducer R0 is prevented from travelling beyond the desired repeat position, such position being determined by the relative position ot' the limit stop pin L1b to the turntable axis. In this connection it is to be observed that the catch H20 even when engaged with one of the teeth L3b is capable of having sliding movement vertically thereof. An extension C5 is provided on the bar C2 on the side remote from its pivot havingy a spring W10, the arrangement being such that on the tone arm A being raised in the usual manner to repeat, the guide bar C2 and sliding track L20 are adapted to assume an inclined position `in the following manner r- The producer is raised in the usuall manner, thus allowing the spring l ,10 (Figure 8) to litt the track L20 and thereby withdraw the teeth L3b from engagement with the latch ybar H20, whereby the spring L4h located between the extension C5, the guide bar C2 and the sliding track L20 immediately pushes the track L20 towardsfthe turntable axis until the stop pin L1b meets the side ot the tone arm A1. The reproducer is then lowered to the desired repetition commencement position which. causes the teeth L30 to engage the latch bar H20 and thereby lock the sliding track L20 in the correct position, in which position it will remain during repetition until again released by the act ot manually raising the tone arm. When a new record is to be used the sliding track L20 is further provided at its extremity adjacent the turntable axis with a wedge member 7, the said member being' adapted toV be placed in the correct position upon the sliding track L20 lthrough `bar C2, meets thephonic record which then rotates the cani member 8 '(whic is so weighted as tohang they short radius down .wards when 4not in contact with the record as shown in Figure 9) thus raising the oar C2 and sliding 'track L29, -which isa loose' t f vupon the bar C2, slightly but notl suiiicient to ldisengageA the teeth L3b from `the latch v bar H2?) and allowing the tone arm A and Ire-v producer to slide downwards to the repeat position limit stop L, -`when thereproducer is again'lowered on to the. record by the continued rotation oi the cam. 8 which tlienaslsumes its normal position. The wedge member? is provided with a pointer 9 to facilitate setting by hand. lv i The repeating mechanism functions in i thus raising the bar C2 and sliding track L2o thereby allowing the raise'd'tone arm Ab and reproducer ,to slide outwards' to they repeat position limit 'stop L1b wherey the reproducer is again lowered'on to the record bythe continued rotation of the cam 8y which then hangs ready 'for re-'use Figures `lO and 11 show a wedge 'action means' for locking the-slide Lc which functions as a flat track to replace thesliding spindle L shown in Figures l to 3 and is adapted to be moved into the outward position by means of a member carried upon a secondary ar'm and corresponding in function to B11, Figures l to 3. The device operates as follows i Figures yllvand l2 show a respectively in a further form ogt automatically setting outward limit stop which sets i`tself for the approximately correct outer record commencement position irrespective of the yposition in which the-r reproducer is placedon the record. lA

In this construction a rest CA is provided,

upon which the tone arm Af ,is adapted :to a

plan elevation v rest while'arecord is beingplaced in posivtion on the turntable. `A downwardlyv extending projection Blli is proyided upon the tone, arm, thisA progection being adapted' to meet andy lift the `:latch bar H? provided upon a lever L21, pivoted at a point L2@ ad' jacent the tone arm pivot and having at its other extremity-an eccentrically mounted roller LA adaptedio makey contact with 'the Vedge of the recordvf@f .when the latter is placed 1n situ upon the turntable J. latchl bar Hf is pivotedat'its. extremity ad- The "acent the tone darm pivot and is arovided parts of the apparatus.

fQThe operation ot thisdevice is as fol- -lows 2 4 i l While' thei'ecord is being placed in posi-v tionrthe tone arm is irst lifted and :placed inthe rest CA. YThis causes the aro'ection 'Bm "to meet andv litt the latch bar Hf and thusdisengage the catchll2f on the-rack, -holes Cs therebyallowing the lever L21to beheld outwards against the actionfot a f,

spring L4f to keep the eccentrically mounted Arollers LA 't'reeirom theedge of the record 0f, While'the same is placed in position Von the turntable Jh j J f .v i,

@The reproducer stylus is then placed on V#the record Of in any desired position, this action allowing the roller LA to `touch ,the

edge of the vrecordxitbeing understoodl that, phonic lines usually commence aboutj from the outer edge of the record, thus determining the general. relativeposition ofthe phoniclines on records ot` all diameters and 'fthe' 'further inward movement; oit; the tone. arm thusv withdraws B1 from the barjHi Vand allows thelatch pin ll2fto drop into en-` gagement with the rack C'whereby the lever 'L21 is locked in the required' position and thus the; lever L21r` and bar Hf act as ain out-/l ward limit stop tor the tone arm `when auto-- matically repeating record fand ensure `the The roller LA. is preferably mounted l:ec--

centrically so as to clear the edgefot the record when the same rotates. v

In this case anysuitable repetition actuating mechanism may heemployed.

It will, of course, be obvious that the foregoing examples are given by way of illus- `trationaand not of limitation, as .various modifications may be made inthe details otA construction and Various mechanicalequivav lents employed as may be foundfnecessary to l`meet any particular practical requirements which ymay have to'be fulfilled.

Having now described my invention what;

iso

l claim as new and desire to secure'by Letters Patent is l. Automatic repeating apparatus 'for disc talking machines and the like applicable to any standard diameter of record disc and extent of phonic record thereon, comprising a reproducer, means for automatically returning the reproducer to the sound commencement position alter a sound reproduction has been completed, a limiting device to limit the return travel of the reproducer and means associated with the reproducer and the limiting device for initially setting the limiting device upon the manual raising and initial setting or the reproducer.

2. Automatic repeating apparatus for disc talking machines and the like applicable to any standard diameter oi' record disc and extent ot phonic record thereon, comprismg a reproducer, means for automatically returning the reproducer to the sounducommencement position after a sound reproduction has been completed, a limiting device to limit the return travel of the reproducer and means associated with the reproducer and the limiting device for initially setting the limiting device upon the manual raising and initial setting of the reproducer said means including two members arranged to engage and be disengaged from each other by the manual movement or' the reproducer.

3. An apparatus of the kind defined by claim 2 wherein means is associated with the limiting device for gently replacingthe reproducer stylus in the starting position after the reproducer has returned to repeat.

4. Automatic repeating apparatus Jfor disc talking machines and the like applicable to any standard diameter of record disc and extent of phonic record thereon, comprising in combination a tone arm mounted for vertical oscillatory and horizontal swinging movement, a reproducer associated with the tone arm and arranged to swing verticallyv with respect thereto, a revolving record table, an arm carried with the tone arm and arranged beneath the record table, means mounted on the arm and coacting with the table for automatically returning the reproducer to the sound commencement position after a sound reproduction is completed, a

limiting device to limit the return travel of the reproducer, means associated with the reproducer, tone arm, the second arm and the limiting device for initially setting the limiting device upon the manual raising and initial setting of the reproducer.

5. Automatic repeating apparatus of the kind deiined by claim 4L wherein the limiting device includes a slidable and rotatable spindle having a fall shoulder and a recessed cam coacting with the spindle for facilitating the return movement vof thereproducer.

6. Apparatus o'l' the kind delined by claim 4 wherein the means for initially setting the limiting device includes a resiliently controlled horizontally swinging segmental lever, a pivotally mounted catch associated with the lever, a slidably mounted releasing member for coacting with the catch, coacting members associated with the tone arm and the reproducer, and a Bowden wire connection between the member on the tone arm and the slidable catch releasing member.

7. Apparatus of the kind defined by claim el wherein means is associated with the means which sets the limiting device for positively ensuring of the operation ot' the means for returning the reproducer to the sound commencement position.

8. Automatic repeating apparatus of the kind defined by claim 4 wherein the limiting device includes a slidable and rotatable spindle arranged beneath the table and having a fall shoulder and a reduced portion, a recessed cam operably mounted on the arm carried by the tone arm and coacting with the spindle for facilitating the return movement of the reproducer, a projection also carried by said arm, an adjustable stop member mounted beneath the table for coacting with the projection and another cam associated with the projection for coacting with the. reduced portion of the spindle for gently replacing the reproducer stylus in the starting position after the reproducer has returned to repeat.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

FRANK BOWLEY MITCHELL. 

